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Sarah Cafferkey's murderer loses appeal bid against life sentence

A Victorian man who murdered two young women, 26 years apart, has lost his High Court bid to appeal against his life sentence.

Family and friends of 22-year-old Sarah Cafferkey applauded as High Court justices Susan Crennan and Susan Kiefel refused a bid by her killer, Steven James Hunter, to try to appeal against the sentence.

Hunter, 48, of Bacchus Marsh, was last year jailed for life without parole after he pleaded guilty to the 2012 murder of Ms Cafferkey.

Hunter admitted killing Ms Cafferkey at his Bacchus Marsh home, where he repeatedly stabbed her and bashed her with a hammer during an argument.

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Hunter later put her body in a car and drove it to a Point Cook home, where he put the body into a wheelie bin and poured concrete inside.

He had completed parole on other offences just nine days earlier.

It was the second time he had killed a young woman.In 1986, when he was 20, he killed his 18-year-old colleague Jacqueline Mathews, an offence for which he served 13 years.

Seeking special leave to appeal, Hunter’s lawyer Daniel Gurvich told the High Court on Friday that the initial sentencing judge and then the Victorian Court of Appeal placed too much weight on the nature of Hunter’s crime and his criminal record.

Mr Gurvich argued not enough weight was placed on matters including his remorse, guilty plea, co-operation and a willingness to engage in treatment programs.

But Justices Crennan and Kiefel did not leave the bench before refusing the application.

‘‘It would not enjoy a sufficient prospect of success to warrant special leave to appeal,’’ Justice Crennan said.

Hunter was the first murderer in the state’s history to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity and still be sentenced to life without parole.